AtBoT: To Speak of Family
by brawlingwolf
Summary: For once, things are relatively peaceful in Skyworld as Kuro goes about training his niece in honing her power she inherited from Pit. Meanwhile, Lucina starts to wonder about her partner's brother and his plans for the future- if he even has any. One-shot, part of the OWLD/AtBoT series, Lucit.


The evening air in Skyworld was crisp with a cool autumn breeze as the sun cast its orange light over the islets. Despite the chill, sweat beaded on Kuro's forehead and he wiped it away with his sleeve, a smile on his face as Aegle panted a few paces away. She grinned as well even as she hunched over, bracing her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"I'm still not happy about this!" Pit joked from his place on the sidelines, and both his daughter and his brother looked up at him with an almost identical sarcastic smirk that made him start laughing.

"Get used to it, Father," Aegle replied once she found her voice among her panting. "You and Mother have such a strong legacy of battle skill and I'm not going to be left behind!"

"I don't think that's possible," Kuro remarked as he approached her. "You've got POWER. You don't even need a weapon."

"One less thing to worry about," she replied, looking up and smiling as her mother joined them.

"I don't suppose there's anything wrong with training recreationally," Lucina said with a soft smile, though her eyes, even now, reflected the pain of the horrors she had seen in her time. "But I hope you never have to use those skills in a real fight."

"It doesn't hurt for her to be prepared," Kuro pointed out. "Besides: Keeping all her energy built up inside can't be helpful." His face darkened. "I would know."

"I know," Pit nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of you, Aegle. I'm amazed at how strong of a woman you're becoming and I'm honored to be your father. I just… worry."

"As a doting father should," Lucina elbowed him, and he grinned at her.

"I understand," Aegle nodded. "I do appreciate the exercise, though." She turned to her uncle. "Thank you, Uncle Kuro."

"My pleasure, Squirt," he teased, and she stuck her tongue out at him briefly. He grinned and ruffled her hair, earning a short flail of protest as she shoved him away lightly. "I think we're good to call it for the day, though."

"Good, because I'm starving!" she laughed.

"And you definitely inherited my appetite," Pit chuckled as he slung his arm over her shoulders. "Come on. We'll scrounge up something for dinner." He turned to his partner and brother. "Are you guys coming?"

"I'll join you in a bit," Lucina replied. "I'm feeling a little queasy, admittedly. I'll be fine," she added at the sight of Pit's concerned face. "Nothing out of the ordinary." He smiled softly and shook his head.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head, and she laughed.

"You'll have plenty of other things to be sorry about!" He laughed as well and stepped over to kiss her briefly.

"Yeah, I know. But in the meantime, I hope you feel better. Is there anything I can do?"

"I think you've done enough," Kuro pointed out, and Pit stared at him until they both doubled over laughing. "Anyway," the black-haired angel said once he'd recovered, "I'll keep an eye on her. Go spend some quality time with your daughter."

"It's fine, really," Lucina urged. "Go!"

"Fine." Pit kissed her forehead and turned to Aegle. "You have a very stubborn mother, you know that?"

"Yeeeeeeeees, "Aegle replied, and Pit snorted before he and his daughter departed from the training platform. Kuro looked up and watched them go before turning to Lucina.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, but thank you for the concern," she replied with a gentle smile. "What about you? I really appreciate you… holding back when you're training with her."

"I would never forgive myself if I did something to hurt her," he said dully. "Besides, doing this actually kind of helps me. Bluntly, I'm not as angry about it."

"Well, that's promising," she chuckled. "Glad to hear it, Kuro. You seem like you have a better grasp on it now."

"Depends on the day," he shrugged. She nodded and fell silent for a moment. "Something else on your mind?"

"Just wondering about something," she said. "Seeing how much you care for Aegle makes me wonder: Have you ever thought about having children of your own?" His expression fell and his eyes lost focus, and he sighed as he turned away from her and walked over to the edge of the platform.

"Yeah, I've thought about it," he replied dully as she approached him carefully, concern in her features. "I mean, it never crossed my mind until you two had Aegle. I'd honestly never considered it, but… things changed when she came around. I couldn't help but ponder it, if nothing else."

"And…?" she urged, and he took a deep breath and crossed his arms before tuning to her.

"I can't," he replied.

"What do you mean?"  
>"I mean I can't have kids." She blinked.<p>

"Er, pardon me for asking, but how do you know that? Have you ever tried…?"

"No, of course not," he scoffed. "Beyond the fact that I have no intention of 'settling down' and I have no idea with who, I…" he sighed. "It's because of Pit."

"Pit?" she echoed, confused. "I doubt he'd have a problem with it. That just doesn't seem like him."

"No, not like that," he groaned. "I mean… I'm not whole, Lucina. I'm not my own person, though I'm probably as close as I can get." He paused. "Pit and I have pretty much swept my past under the rug and I really don't care what anybody else thinks of me, though he's got every right to judge me. But even if I've been around for over a thousand years, even if I was Dark Pit for only four of those years and unconscious for three of them, it doesn't change the fact that I came from that Mirror. I don't have a soul of my own, and… Who I am? What you see before you? I'm just some weird combination of Pit's soul, Lady Palutena's power, and… a monster." She inhaled briefly.

"You're not a monster, Kuro," she told him firmly. "Don't ever say that." He snorted briefly.

"You don't know that. I don't know everything that came from the Mirror, but I'm willing to bet I'm the only thing that's still alive. Everything else, as far as we know of, was just monsters the Underworld had replicated."

"But you're a reflection of Pit, no?" she asked. "And he's not a monster in any sense of the word."

"The point is that I'm not complete on my own," he said. "Medusa and Lady Palutena theorized it was because Pit cracked the Mirror before I was complete. I don't know if that's true or not, but it doesn't really matter." He paused again as he looked over the orange-cast clouds around the islets. "I guess I'm kind of like you and your friends from the future. The Fates told you- or them, I guess- that they couldn't have children because that would interfere with the natural flow of time. No offense, but you're not really meant to be here. Neither am I. For some reason, they let you break the rules with Aegle, and I have no complaints about that. But… the principle is still the same."

"I suppose you have a point," she admitted in a soft voice, and they both fell silent for some time.

"Beyond not knowing if I'm physically capable of having children, I wonder what they would be like. I mean, who would they be more like- me or Pit? Because we're still, at our core, the same person. And how could I do that to them? How would they deal with the fact that their father was never meant to exist? That he's not actually a real and complete person?"

Lucina frowned and sighed softly, then stepped forward and, catching him entirely off guard, pulled him into a tight embrace and rested her head on his chest. He grunted and stared at her.

"How can you say you're not real?" she asked softly. "You look real. You feel real. And I don't think anybody could even remotely consider you as 'Dark Pit' anymore- even those who knew you back then." He hesitated a moment longer before returning her embrace, gently wrapping his arms around her back.

"Thanks, Lucina," he said, and she smiled as she pulled back and rested her hands on his shoulders. "Pit really is lucky to have you. I hope he realizes that."

"He's lucky to have you too," she replied. "You know him even better than I do. Honestly, I think he's closer to you even more than he is to me. But I wouldn't expect anything less." Her eyes softened and she touched his cheek. "And who knows what the future holds now? Maybe things will change for you someday."

"I don't know," he shrugged and smiled. "I'm pretty happy with my life the way it is. And no matter what, I'm glad to help keep an eye on my brother's kids." She chuckled and nodded.

"Right. Now, we should probably catch up with them before Pit starts to worry about us." He dipped his head and they started off in the direction Pit and Aegle had left in earlier.

"Lucina?"

"Yes, Kuro?" she replied as she turned to him.

"Let me do something to thank you- for your kindness, for calming me down…"

"You don't need to do anything," she smiled. "But I suppose I can't stop you."

"No, not really," he chuckled and held his hand out toward her, and a moment later, a dark pink light emitted from her wings and her eyes lit up with joy as she took to the air and he spread his wings to follow her through the sky.


End file.
